Letter 2036: I too embrace the old-fashioned form in my letter headings, and I am quite surprised that a copyist's error crept in.

I too embrace the old-fashioned form in my letter headings, and I am quite surprised that a copyist's error crept in. My usual practice is to place only the names at the top of my letters, and the scribe altered this simple custom by a newfangled addition. But it will be clear that this was done by accident rather than design if you recall that none of my earlier letters ever bore such a vulgar heading. Still, however this happened, I am glad something new turned up that freed me from the usual style of reply. For how long will we keep up the giving and returning of [Text breaks off in source.]

30 Ego quoque in scribendo formam vetustatis amplector nimisque miror, quod mihi librarii error obrepserit, qui solitus epistuiis meis nomina sola praeponere, usum sim- I uelati F II om. PVM 12 hane epistiUam cumpraeeedmti eonhmgunt PVM, diviai qaodam pelium PF, quendam peliiim M 15 uale add. VM tu in Daunios] ego^ tu inda unius VP^, tuenda unius P, om. M 19 postergum in raa. P 20 uice P ueris (ue in rat.) P, remouearis V uale add. VM 54 SYMMACHI EPISTVLAE PVF plicem novella adiectione mutavit. sed id casn potins qnam consnlto factnm liqnebit, si recorderis, nnmqnam snperiores litteras meas istinsmodi titnlo sordnisse. et tamen ntcnmqne ista res accidit , gratnlor novi aliqnid oblatnm , qnod me ab solito respon- 2 dendi gcnere vindicaret. qnonsqne enim dandae ac reddendae salutationis verba blaterabimns , cum aiia stilo materia non snppetat? at olim parentes etiam patriae 5 negotia, qnae nnnc angnsta vel nulla sunt, in familiares paginas conferebant. id qnia versis ad otinm rebus omisimus, captanda snnt nobis plemmqne intemptata scri- bendi semina, qnae fastidium tergeant generalinm litterarnm. iuvit igitur me culpa, qnam dilui, et si non fallor, tibi qnoque viam dedit inusitata referendi. XXXVI a. 385. lo